The Asian Clearing Union (ACU) is a payment arrangement between the central banks of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Under ACU, member central banks settle payments, mainly related to export or import transactions between member countries, on a net basis. This reduces the use of foreign exchange reserves and transfer costs. Currently, ACU settlements are done in the US dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen. Amid the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the RBI had said that authorised Indian banks can settle current account and trade transactions with the south-east Asian nation in any permitted currency outside the ACU mechanism.